SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY
The Role of Judgment in Medical Decision-Making
Once science determines whether a medical treatment works, the next questions—when to use it and on which patients—become matters of judgment, not measurement. Some doctors are trying to inject more science into the decision-making process.
In other biomedical news, British researchers reported progress in the lab against the deadliest form of lung cancer. They've found a drug that destroys tumors in mice by blocking the growth of cancer cells and eventually causing them to self-destruct.
Last week the medical use of marijuana was endorsed by the American Medical Association, which urged the federal government to reconsider its classification as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use. The group reportedly hopes to clear the way to conduct clinical research and develop cannabis-based medicines.
A study involving Chinese factory workers found that exposure to high levels of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), found in many everyday plastic products, appeared to cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems.
An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of the domestic horse, which has implications for human health. "Horses suffer from more than 90 hereditary diseases that show similarities to those in humans," the BBC noted.
Science in the Media
Newspapers:
Magazines and Web Sites:
The Science-Media Intersection:
Subscribe to Our Content!
Visit our RSS Feeds page to choose among 13 customized feeds, or create a free My AmSci account to request an email notice whenever a specified author, department or discipline appears online.